Current Position: Team Lead for Emergency Department and RN in Cardiac Surgery Intensive Care

“As I’ve traveled through my nursing career, I’ve developed a passion for the management of patients suffering from severe sepsis. My education has been instrumental in helping me understand the complexity of the healthcare system and has also strengthened my ability to improve patient outcomes at the bedside, something I find extremely rewarding. As bedside nurses, we carry out orders and anticipate outcomes based on those orders, but we often only touch the surface when it comes to patient care. The desire to gain greater understanding and advance my education became the driving force behind my returning to school. The University of Virginia School of Nursing offers me an opportunity to take classes that expand my knowledge base and allow me to learn from clinical experts who help students become the providers of tomorrow. After completing my AG-ACNP/CNS in Critical Care Surgery/Medicine I hope to enroll in the DNP program to further my education and focus on my studies on sepsis management.”

On March 23, a new petition calling for the President’s support to remove scope of practice barriers affecting Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRNs) was posted on the White House website. The petition states that given an anticipated 30 million newly-insured patients who will require nursing and healthcare services, APRNs can help to address the growing demand for home health and primary care−provided they are supported to the full extent of their education and training. The petition hopes to gain 100,000 signatures by April 22, 2013 before submitting it to the Obama Administration.

Those interested in signing the petition must click on “Create an Account” and follow the instructions posted here.

Join the Graduate Nursing Student Academy (GNSA)

Help us get 100% representation at AACN member institutions. Click here to find out how to join the GNSA.

GNSA Members

GNSA Leadership Council Member Attends AACN Student Policy Summit

Last month AACN held its annual Student Policy Summit (SPS), a three-day conference in Washington, DC for baccalaureate and graduate nursing students enrolled at an AACN member institution. Students attending were immersed in program sessions focused on the federal policy process and nursing’s role in professional advocacy.

Kim Crosby, a GNSA Leadership Council Member, was among the graduate nursing students who attended the SPS and provided the following feedback: “The SPS gave me experience speaking with Senators and Congressmen and provided me with techniques and a plethora of resources which I can utilize in my education and practice. It was a wonderful opportunity to network with students and deans from around the country.” For a summary of the SPS and featured events, check out the latest issue of Policy Beat.

See Who Represents Your School as a GNSA Liaison

Located at each AACN member institution, GNSA Liaisons serve as the point of contact for their fellow students on information related to the GNSA. They also intervene on your behalf directly with the Leadership Council by bringing feedback and programming ideas. By clicking here you can see a list of the current GNSA Liaisons, and the person who you can contact at your institution about news and information related to the GNSA.

Are you interested in serving as a GNSA Liaison for your nursing school? Click here to complete the online application and help us ensure all AACN member institutions are represented by a Liaison.

Join Us for These Upcoming GNSA Webinars!

The following programs are offered for free to all members of the GNSA:

Tune in and hear Dr. Erin Hartnett, a DNP graduate and the recipient of the first AACN Excellence in Advancing Nursing Practice Award, share her capstone experience and discuss the steps she took to develop a successful capstone project.

PhD Dissertation Process: Tips and Strategies for Success

Thursday, April 25 @ 4:00 PM EST

Join us for a session exploring tips and strategies to help you successfully mount a winning dissertation process. Hear from a former PhD student who will share the steps she took to create a dissertation study with the potential to advance nursing science, education, practice, and policy.

Developing Into a Successful Nursing Leader

Thursday, May 30 @ 2:00 PM EST

Drs. Greer Glazer and Joyce Fitzpatrick will discuss the unique perspective leaders from other disciplines haveregarding nurses in power positions. Theyalso will sharestragtegies that will allow you to strenthen your capacity as a future nursing leader.

Last month, Jennifer Rutt, the Senior Director for University Relations at AfterCollege Inc., presented the webinar titled, Getting Noticed by First-Choice Nurse Employers.

Ms. Rutt shared tips on launching a successful job search and gave expert advice on developing an application to set you apart from others and help you land your first-choice nursing job. She also demonstrated how you can use the Graduate Nursing Career Network to help you get noticed. If you missed this webinar, you can log in to the collaboration community to access the archive by clicking here.

The learning modules, developed by three faculty experts, focus on helping faculty who teach in pre-licensure nursing programs better prepare nurses with the knowledge, skills, and attitudes necessary to continuously improve the quality and safety of patient care in the healthcare systems where they work. They are now available in the GNSA Collaboration Community and provide an opportunity to earn American Nurses Credentialing Center contact hours for each QSEN competency module.

This program, sponsored by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) consists of the NURSE Corps Scholarship Program and the NURSE Corps Loan Repayment Program and is empowering and enabling nurses to follow their passion for helping and healing others.

There is still time to apply for the Johnson & Johnson Campaign for Nursing’s Future – AACN Minority Nurse Faculty Scholars Program.This program invites applications from students in doctoral and clinically focused master’s programs who will serve as nurse faculty after completing their degrees.

Scholarship recipients are selected by an application review committee, and 10 awards in the amount of $18,000 are disbursed each summer. All recipients are expected to attend AACN’s annual Faculty Development Conference and meet regularly with a mentor who will assist in preparing them to assume leadership roles in academia.

Complete and application for the “Together We Care” Nurse Practitioner Scholarship sponsored by MinuteClinic and Johnson & Johnson.

This program will award 30 Nurse Practitioner scholarships for up to $2,500 each and 5 DNP scholarships for $5,000 each. The deadline to apply is May 1, 2013. More information about the scholarship program can be found here.